Transcripts
On this episode of Queue Points, we welcome Idris Goodwin.
Jay Ray:Idris Goodwin is an award-winning creative driven by a passion
Jay Ray:for impactful storytelling.
Jay Ray:Currently serving as Artistic Director of Seattle Children’s Theater,
Jay Ray:Idris writes, directs, programs and /or produces relevant content
Jay Ray:for intergenerational audiences.
Jay Ray:Recognized as a culture bearer who celebrates community values and cultivates
Jay Ray:histories with care, Goodwin’s impact spans generation and artistic mediums,
Jay Ray:with well over 60 original plays produced coast to coast, from Oregon Shakespeare
Jay Ray:Festival to The John F Kennedy Center.
Jay Ray:Several of these works are published, as are his forays into poetry and
Jay Ray:prose, including the collections Can I Kick It and These Are The Breaks.
Jay Ray:Harper Collins Clarion released his 1st picture book, Your
Jay Ray:House is Not Just A House.
Jay Ray:A performer and recording artist, he’s created original video content for
Jay Ray:and/or appeared on Wondery, Nickelodeon, HBO Def Poetry, Sesame Street, NPR,
Jay Ray:BBC Radio, and the Discovery Channel.
Jay Ray:Before stepping into his current tenure with SCT, Idris served as Artistic
Jay Ray:Director of StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, as well as Executive
Jay Ray:Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College,
Jay Ray:where he also taught as a professor in The Department of Theater and Dance.
Jay Ray:As Board President of Theater For Young Audiences/USA, he is a champion
Jay Ray:for theater makers and institutions with a stated focus on cultivating
Jay Ray:the arts patrons of tomorrow.
Jay Ray:King Of The Neuro Verse, his 1st novel, will be released in 2025.
Jay Ray:We spoke to Idris in December 2024 as he was preparing for his newest play,
Jay Ray:Doctor De Soto, to hit the stage.
Jay Ray:Doctor De Soto opens at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta on January 18th
Jay Ray:and runs through March 2, 2025.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Jay Ray, guess what?
Jay Ray:What's up?
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Today's queued up guest is no stranger to Queue Points, right?
Jay Ray:As a matter of fact.
Jay Ray:I got to experience his magic when I attended a magical production of
Jay Ray:his stage play, The Boy Who Kissed the Sky, here at the Alliance
Jay Ray:Theater in Atlanta about a year ago.
Jay Ray:And Jay Ray, we also had the pleasure of interviewing the co
Jay Ray:musical directors, IV, last year.
Jay Ray:And now, bringing it all back, we have the honor of speaking with
Jay Ray:the author, Playwright and MC.
Jay Ray:We're going to find out about that.
Jay Ray:I'm talking about none other than today's guest Idris Goodwin.
Jay Ray:Welcome Idris.
Idris Goodwin:What's going on, y'all?
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: How are you feeling today?
Idris Goodwin:I just want to do a quick checking with you.
Idris Goodwin:How are you feeling?
Idris Goodwin:And, um, you know, you're in the moment, you're in the moment right now,
Idris Goodwin:getting to play this, this new stage play that we're about to talk about.
Idris Goodwin:You're in the midst of that, but how are you doing in this, at this moment?
Idris Goodwin:Oh, you know, it's always good to be in Atlanta.
Idris Goodwin:Um, I was, uh, you know, my, my, I grew up coming here a lot.
Idris Goodwin:I got hella family out here.
Idris Goodwin:Uh, I was actually just back here a couple of weeks ago.
Idris Goodwin:Cause great.
Idris Goodwin:Granny turned a hundred years old.
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Oh,
Jay Ray:granny.
Idris Goodwin:yeah, so I'm very comfortable here.
Idris Goodwin:I'm very familiar here.
Idris Goodwin:Working at Alliance is always a treat.
Idris Goodwin:Uh, they treat me well here.
Idris Goodwin:I've had a few shows here before, like the Boy who Kissed this guy that you
Idris Goodwin:mentioned, as well as, uh, adaptation of Jason Reynolds ghosts as well.
Idris Goodwin:I've been here a lot of times for conferences and other things.
Idris Goodwin:So, uh, I'm doing quite well, man, and we're in the room where it happens.
Idris Goodwin:We're, we're, we're rehearsing starting to kick the tires.
Idris Goodwin:I've been revisions, so yeah, just, uh, and a and, but a great, great, um,
Idris Goodwin:to take a break to get to talk to you brothers about, uh, about this piece.
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: it.
Jay Ray:I just also want to check in quickly with you.
Jay Ray:You know, um, we can't get around it.
Jay Ray:Um, we recently lost, um, who is, well, we had now have a new ancestor, right?
Jay Ray:And Nikki Giovanni.
Jay Ray:And as a playwright and author, you know, what impact has her work had on you?
Jay Ray:Yes, there
Idris Goodwin:Ego Trip and, or Ego Trip.
Idris Goodwin:Um,
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:um, and you know, I am in that lineage of
Idris Goodwin:griots, black arts movement.
Idris Goodwin:um, I had the pleasure to actually, um, curate an event.
Idris Goodwin:that featured Nikki Giovanni back in the day at the Hothouse in Chicago.
Idris Goodwin:Um, and it was an amazing experience.
Idris Goodwin:I'll never forget it.
Idris Goodwin:I remember my mom and one of her homegirls drove all the way up
Idris Goodwin:from Detroit to see, to see it.
Idris Goodwin:Cause, uh, you know, Nikki was, was, was always on our shelves growing up.
Idris Goodwin:So Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, like, you know, we go down the line.
Idris Goodwin:So yeah, yeah.
Idris Goodwin:Rest in, rest in poetry, um, Queen Nikki.
Idris Goodwin:Yeah,
Jay Ray:Um, once again, thank you so much for the work that you do.
Jay Ray:I am curious, before we jump into this upcoming work for Doctor De
Jay Ray:Soto, um, can we talk a bit about the importance of music for children?
Jay Ray:Because that's like a consistent thing that we see in your work,
Jay Ray:particularly your work for kids.
Jay Ray:Can you talk about the importance of that?
Idris Goodwin:Oh, well, I mean, look, first and foremost, the first
Idris Goodwin:kind of writing I did as a, as a young Thundercat was, was lyrics.
Idris Goodwin:Um, I drew comics and I started writing lyrics to rap songs,
Idris Goodwin:you know, rap songs and whatnot.
Idris Goodwin:And that, that.
Idris Goodwin:always spoke to me.
Idris Goodwin:I found out later that it's become a lifelong struggle
Idris Goodwin:with neurodivergency, ADHD.
Idris Goodwin:And, you know, and it answered a lot of questions for me about challenges I had in
Idris Goodwin:school growing up with the written word.
Idris Goodwin:And, um, And some of this is the subject.
Idris Goodwin:I have a, I have a, uh, a novel coming in, in, uh, 2025, uh, called king of the
Idris Goodwin:neural verse, which is it's fictional, but it's very much based on, uh, that,
Idris Goodwin:that challenge in that time of my life.
Idris Goodwin:Um, but anyway, uh, so the, but the music always
Idris Goodwin:gave me clarity, uh, you know, very intuitively, um, I was, I was wired in and
Idris Goodwin:there was always music in the household.
Idris Goodwin:Um, and the music, especially like, you know, pre internet, know, music, more
Idris Goodwin:particularly specifically black music, had, it carried so much history in it,
Idris Goodwin:you know, it carried, So much in it.
Idris Goodwin:It was so jam packed, much like our food.
Idris Goodwin:You know, it is, it has got layers and levels and richness to it because
Idris Goodwin:it's doing, it's doing all this work.
Idris Goodwin:It's, it's carrying the history.
Idris Goodwin:It's the word on the street.
Idris Goodwin:It's the, you know, it's all of it.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:And it also is trying to make you move and feel good too.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:So it is ethos, pathos, and You know, all of that, all of those is,
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:you know, in one.
Idris Goodwin:So for me, um, I think for the performing arts, for theater, you know, it's
Idris Goodwin:storytelling, but it's live storytelling and, you know, and, or like, you know,
Idris Goodwin:it's, it's in the tradition of the black church, like it's the living word.
Idris Goodwin:And there is a, there's, it's a dialogue, like
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Idris Goodwin:live performance is a dialogue.
Idris Goodwin:Um, you know, I just watched the, um, the Jamie Foxx special last night.
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Idris Goodwin:Um, which, which was shot here in Atlanta, uh, on, on the stage
Idris Goodwin:where Boy Who Gets the Sky, uh, was
Jay Ray:Yes.
Idris Goodwin:So I was like, oh snap.
Idris Goodwin:I can say I've shared the stage with Jamie
Jay Ray:Yeah!
Idris Goodwin:Um, yeah.
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: you go.
Idris Goodwin:I'm lying.
Idris Goodwin:Tell me I'm lying.
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Heh heh heh heh.
Idris Goodwin:I love about his performance, is that to me, it
Idris Goodwin:just reminds, it was such a, it was, it was like a revivalist.
Idris Goodwin:Like he's doing testimony,
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Idris Goodwin:songs, he's telling jokes.
Idris Goodwin:The audience is, is a scene partner with
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Yes.
Idris Goodwin:And to me, like that is a distinctly, you know, you
Idris Goodwin:know, I think that is a very African thing, but it's definitely a, a,
Idris Goodwin:a black American, uh, aesthetic.
Jay Ray:Yes.
Idris Goodwin:how we get down.
Idris Goodwin:And so for me, know, my work as a playwright, it was like, cool, I'm
Idris Goodwin:going to follow the fundamental tenets of Western drama, right?
Idris Goodwin:Of narrative.
Idris Goodwin:But within there, there is room for me to, uh, sprinkle in or
Idris Goodwin:bring in any, any, any, any of the things I got in my, in my toolbox.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:And so, because I started with lyrics, uh, in the rap tradition,
Idris Goodwin:which is, which is on the branch of the blues, which is, you know, make
Idris Goodwin:it, make it plain as the pastor says,
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Idris Goodwin:make it plain, make it memorable, make it funky.
Idris Goodwin:And so that is, uh, to me, the role of, I mean, listen, I
Idris Goodwin:approach plays or really any of the living word, the time based word.
Idris Goodwin:it, um, like it's all music.
Idris Goodwin:It's all falling.
Idris Goodwin:It's all rhythmic.
Idris Goodwin:It's all, it's falling.
Idris Goodwin:Like it's not behind you.
Idris Goodwin:It's not behind you.
Idris Goodwin:It's not in front of you.
Idris Goodwin:It's just right here in front of you.
Idris Goodwin:It's just now
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Mmm.
Idris Goodwin:and it's and if it's on the one, um, you know, it's
Idris Goodwin:gonna make the body react and do
Jay Ray:Mm hmm.
Jay Ray:Amazing.
Idris Goodwin:So, so to me, I always jokingly say I don't write musicals.
Idris Goodwin:I just write musical plays.
Idris Goodwin:Um, uh, but it really is like that, but that's just how I exist in the world, man.
Idris Goodwin:Like I just, It's always, the music is always there.
Idris Goodwin:I'm always listening to it.
Idris Goodwin:I'm always, you know, it's always, it's how I approach a lot of things.
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: So tell us about Doctor De Soto.
Idris Goodwin:Opening January 18th, uh, here at the Hertz stage at the Alliance Theater.
Idris Goodwin:And, um, what can, I know this is a kid's play, like for starting for six
Idris Goodwin:and up, but what can adults learn from this production of Doctor De Soto?
Idris Goodwin:That's a great question.
Idris Goodwin:Um, so Doctor De Soto is a book I loved when I was a kid.
Idris Goodwin:It's picture books by William Stieg.
Idris Goodwin:William Stieg's biggest claim to fame is he wrote the book that
Idris Goodwin:the Shrek series is based on.
Idris Goodwin:So, um, but he's got a whole body of picture books.
Idris Goodwin:Um, and he is, he is, um, I, I consider him, he's like, um,
Idris Goodwin:of more of a contemporary, like Grimm's brothers kind of vibe
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Okay.
Idris Goodwin:he, he was never, he's not afraid to, put his heroes in real danger
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:and peril.
Idris Goodwin:And there's always like, You know, they're not, they're not like super,
Idris Goodwin:you know, create, you know, out there like that, but like he would, he
Idris Goodwin:wouldn't, you know, you'll, you'll see, you'll just see what I, what I mean.
Idris Goodwin:So, um, but he reminds me also of like Aesop as well.
Idris Goodwin:So like, you know, animals like predators and prey interacting, that kind of thing.
Idris Goodwin:So Doctor De Soto, Is about, um, uh, a husband and wife team, they run a
Idris Goodwin:dental office and because they're mice, they can climb inside the mouths of
Idris Goodwin:larger animals and do a really good job, intricate job cleaning their teeth.
Idris Goodwin:And they're the best.
Idris Goodwin:Everybody loves the, the sodos, but but they have a sign that says, no,
Idris Goodwin:no, we will not treat any carnivores.
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Hmm.
Idris Goodwin:like if you, if you out in the streets, gobbling up smaller mammals.
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Right.
Idris Goodwin:keep pushing.
Idris Goodwin:keep, take it down the road.
Idris Goodwin:one day a fox shows up,
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Hmm.
Idris Goodwin:you know, in, in just pain, just, just whimpering,
Idris Goodwin:just, just, just a mess.
Idris Goodwin:And they take sympathy on this fox and they say, come on up here.
Idris Goodwin:Come on, come on.
Idris Goodwin:And they, and they, and they put, they, they, um, they say
Idris Goodwin:you got a rotten by cuspid.
Idris Goodwin:And so, um, they put the fox under and when the fox is under.
Idris Goodwin:It's like muttering to us.
Idris Goodwin:It's like, yeah, they're going to be delicious.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Hmm.
Idris Goodwin:De Soto and his wife are in a conundrum now.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:Because, you know, they, they have this model when they, when
Idris Goodwin:they start a job, they finish it.
Idris Goodwin:they pull, they pull the tooth out, but then the fox got to come
Idris Goodwin:back to get the new tooth put in.
Idris Goodwin:And, and so they're like, what are we going to do?
Idris Goodwin:Like on one hand, You know, he was, he was under, we may
Idris Goodwin:not have heard what we heard.
Idris Goodwin:Seems like a nice enough Fox, certainly well dressed, you know.
Idris Goodwin:So what is we to do, right?
Idris Goodwin:Do we, do we turn this Fox away in the middle of this job?
Idris Goodwin:just because of our fear, do we figure out how we, how we can
Idris Goodwin:have it both ways, so to speak.
Idris Goodwin:So, so, you know, it's a very simple, lovely, story in, in its,
Idris Goodwin:in its, in its, uh, printed form.
Idris Goodwin:And I think what I responded to as a kid was just like the simplicity of that,
Idris Goodwin:like, you know, it's like the small and the large, but you know, to now get very
Idris Goodwin:egghead y about it, um, What it, what it's ultimately about is something that
Idris Goodwin:is very real that we as adults deal with all the time too, which is like these
Idris Goodwin:tough calls when our, when our values of collide with, you know, our needs
Idris Goodwin:to survive or, or our fears really, if we're keeping it a buck, right.
Idris Goodwin:It's like, you know, what is, what is good, you know, good
Idris Goodwin:sense versus, um, what's right.
Idris Goodwin:You know,
Jay Ray:Mhm.
Jay Ray:Mhm.
Idris Goodwin:I think that is 100 percent what I think the role of theater
Idris Goodwin:is in the lives of, of young people is to, is to show them choices and
Idris Goodwin:to show them difficult choices that different kinds of characters approach
Idris Goodwin:good, bad, or otherwise, you know, and that's, those are the tools for life.
Idris Goodwin:It's like, you will have a choice.
Idris Goodwin:You will need to make a choice.
Idris Goodwin:And whether you make the right one or the wrong one.
Idris Goodwin:You then have to deal with the constant, you know, the aftermath of those
Idris Goodwin:choices, good, bad or otherwise, right?
Idris Goodwin:So you're constantly making choices.
Idris Goodwin:Um, you know, on another level, though, what, what was really appealing to
Idris Goodwin:me as a theater maker and a theater person was, you know, In the book,
Idris Goodwin:you see this, they play with scale.
Idris Goodwin:And so in the opening pages of the book, it's like everybody was rocking
Idris Goodwin:with the de Soto's, like other mice and gophers and other small animals, mammals.
Idris Goodwin:But, but, but like the hooved community was rocking with them big time.
Idris Goodwin:So like, there's a image of, Doctor De Soto's wife, like cranking him
Idris Goodwin:up on this pulley to like be in the, in the inside of this mule's
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:like as big old mule, this big old cow with the mouth open.
Idris Goodwin:And I'm like, wow.
Idris Goodwin:Like, how do you do that on set?
Idris Goodwin:How do you do scale on stage?
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:Like, how do you play with, know, these, these perceptions of big
Idris Goodwin:and small, uh, on, on, on stage.
Idris Goodwin:So that is like the Genesis.
Idris Goodwin:And so, you know, I, I like to think of myself as, as
Idris Goodwin:writing for multi generational
Jay Ray:Mhm.
Idris Goodwin:kids don't.
Idris Goodwin:don't come to the theater by themselves
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Well, yeah.
Jay Ray:Right.
Idris Goodwin:time too.
Idris Goodwin:Cause the fundamentals of good storytelling are age.
Idris Goodwin:That doesn't matter what age you are, you know, Kung Fu Panda four was fire.
Idris Goodwin:You know, my wife and I used to go on dates and see Pixar movies
Idris Goodwin:before we even had children.
Idris Goodwin:So like good stories are good stories.
Idris Goodwin:And it does, it really doesn't matter.
Idris Goodwin:And it's a very human thing to like identify with another human being.
Idris Goodwin:So what we, what what we're making right now and shout out Director, uh,
Idris Goodwin:Mark Valdez and Chris Moses, um, and Tanasha for, um, know, our wonderful
Idris Goodwin:artistic directors of the Lions.
Idris Goodwin:All the support.
Idris Goodwin:We got a huge team.
Idris Goodwin:It's gonna be a really cool feast of cool costumes.
Idris Goodwin:puppetry, shadow puppetry, you know, lights inside, you know, and we're
Idris Goodwin:going to be in a relatively, the Hertz stage is a very intimate space.
Idris Goodwin:And so we're going to play with this, this, this piece about creatures big
Idris Goodwin:and small and a really tight space.
Idris Goodwin:So it's really, about theatricality, which is the other thing I love.
Idris Goodwin:I love showing people, especially in this increasingly digital world that,
Idris Goodwin:you know, you can, you can You can do slights of hands and tricks and
Idris Goodwin:play, you can do it in very simple ways, you know, shadow puppetry.
Idris Goodwin:I love because it's just light.
Idris Goodwin:It's just
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:it's yin and yang, you know what I'm saying?
Idris Goodwin:It's just light and darkness and just playing with that.
Idris Goodwin:So anyway, um, so yeah, it's got something for everybody.
Idris Goodwin:fun.
Idris Goodwin:It's silly.
Idris Goodwin:There's a lot of like rhyming and music in it inevitably just cause why not?
Idris Goodwin:Um, and, uh, the one change I did from the book is I added, and not the one
Idris Goodwin:change, I would say the most significant change is that in the book, it's just Dr.
Idris Goodwin:Mrs.
Idris Goodwin:De Soto in my jam.
Idris Goodwin:Uh, there's, there's young De Soto.
Jay Ray:Let
Idris Goodwin:who grew, grows up in this family business and is
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Okay.
Idris Goodwin:is, is almost like a young apprentice and is, and of
Idris Goodwin:course is ready, is ready to go.
Idris Goodwin:It's like, I'm 10, I'm double digits.
Idris Goodwin:Like, let me, let me get in
Jay Ray:me get up in that cow's mouth and
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: Yes.
Jay Ray:this bicuspid out, you know, and pops is like,
Jay Ray:Chill.
Jay Ray:Slow down.
Jay Ray:Laughter
Idris Goodwin:calm, calm the tape, you know what I'm saying?
Idris Goodwin:And, um, and so it's, it's also about that too, about, you know, young De Soto
Idris Goodwin:makes these, These choices that put the whole family and the business at risk too.
Idris Goodwin:So it is also about that too.
Idris Goodwin:It's like to face the music and when your ambition gets,
Idris Goodwin:you know, whatever, whatever.
Idris Goodwin:So anyway, uh, it's a good time.
Idris Goodwin:It's a good time.
Idris Goodwin:We'll get you in and out in an hour or so.
Jay Ray:man, listen, I, I actually, hopefully I will be in Atlanta
Jay Ray:during the dates of this performance.
Jay Ray:I think I will.
Jay Ray:So I'm looking forward to taking this in, but you actually, um, were
Jay Ray:talking about this in your answer.
Jay Ray:you were talking about all the people that are working that are working
Jay Ray:with you to like in the theater to bring this thing to life, right?
Idris Goodwin:Yeah.
Jay Ray:one of the things I was talking to Sir Daniel about was the thing that
Jay Ray:really stood out to me, um, and it feels just very Black, is community
Jay Ray:taking care of each other, right?
Idris Goodwin:Mm.
Jay Ray:So the Doctor De Soto and his wife are like members of this community
Jay Ray:and there's all of these people, right, that are all of these, all of these,
Jay Ray:uh, these animals that are different from them in the community that they
Jay Ray:are also choosing to take care of.
Jay Ray:And I just wanted to get you to wax poetic a bit about the importance of
Jay Ray:community in your work, like you, like displaying that in the work, because
Jay Ray:we could see that as well in the, the, the boy who kissed the sky to this
Idris Goodwin:course.
Jay Ray:of that, that interplay.
Idris Goodwin:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:I mean, I, I think there's a thing that was just ingrained in me a little
Idris Goodwin:bit about being, being of service and being, and being like, you know, what
Idris Goodwin:and, and, and, and, and a thing around like, you know, so, so boy, boy, boy
Idris Goodwin:who kissed the sky, uh, is, is very, uh, much inspired by the Jimi Hendrix story,
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Yes.
Idris Goodwin:Um, I have another play called And In This Corner, Cash is
Idris Goodwin:Clay, which is about Muhammad Ali's young life in Louisville, Kentucky.
Idris Goodwin:Um, and so, there's there's this interest I have these stories about
Idris Goodwin:these great people, these icons, um, at Seattle Children's Theater,
Idris Goodwin:we're producing, I'm not writing this one, but I'm producing it.
Idris Goodwin:Uh, we're, we're doing a story about Bruce Lee's years in Seattle.
Jay Ray:Wow.
Idris Goodwin:there a relative short amount of time, but he's, he's
Idris Goodwin:buried there now as his, his son.
Idris Goodwin:And most people don't, know that story or why people assume he's buried in
Idris Goodwin:Hollywood or Hong Kong, but there was this really interesting time
Idris Goodwin:in his life when he was like about to start college and everything.
Idris Goodwin:So there's something about, there's something about, um, and for me in these
Idris Goodwin:kinds of stories, I often look to who were the mentors, who were the people in
Idris Goodwin:their community, who were their friends,
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:it's about how these people influence them
Idris Goodwin:and shape the thing we know.
Idris Goodwin:So we already know, you know, we see these people on the posters and in the
Idris Goodwin:documentaries, we know Muhammad Ali the greatest and rumble in the jungle
Idris Goodwin:and, and you know, uh, uh, what is it?
Idris Goodwin:Conscious, uh, conscientious objector.
Idris Goodwin:Uh, we know about all that.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:But we don't, but not a lot of people know at what age he started boxing and why,
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Mhm.
Idris Goodwin:um,
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Mhm.
Idris Goodwin:And, and, and that he was fighting on local TV at age 12 and
Idris Goodwin:that he had two trainers, he had a white trainer and a black trainer, like, you
Idris Goodwin:know, um, we don't know this stuff.
Idris Goodwin:And so, and so again, it is about the way that.
Idris Goodwin:community influences and shapes us, especially when we're young
Idris Goodwin:often present us with those, as I talked about before, those choices,
Jay Ray:Yes.
Idris Goodwin:They influence our choices.
Idris Goodwin:They activate our choices.
Idris Goodwin:They pick us up when we make a choice that knocks us down,
Idris Goodwin:you know, et cetera, et cetera.
Idris Goodwin:So, you know, and then also to take it further theater in and of itself
Idris Goodwin:is for me is about, know, I'm writing.
Idris Goodwin:writing something that's going to gather people.
Idris Goodwin:I'm very conscious of that, that I am writing, not only gathering a creative
Idris Goodwin:team, you know, actors, designers, whatever, but then gathering an
Idris Goodwin:audience as well, and we're going to go on this, this journey together
Idris Goodwin:and have this conversation together.
Idris Goodwin:So I think, you know, intuitively perhaps I am.
Idris Goodwin:In the case of De Soto, it's ironic you say that because I think the,
Idris Goodwin:the, theater writer slash producer in me was like, Oh, this is actually
Idris Goodwin:a very small, like it's, it's Mr.
Idris Goodwin:It's Dr.
Idris Goodwin:and Mrs.
Idris Goodwin:De Soto and then the Fox.
Idris Goodwin:was like, that's, that's pretty smart.
Idris Goodwin:And they're, they're mostly in this one space.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Jay Ray:Right.
Idris Goodwin:as we've evolved it, you know, it has become about,
Idris Goodwin:um, how they engage with other members of the animal world.
Jay Ray:Yeah.
Idris Goodwin:how important that is.
Idris Goodwin:So even inevitably, uh, you know, these other, these other, you know,
Idris Goodwin:the, the, the, um, the lens widens.
Idris Goodwin:Right.
Idris Goodwin:Yeah.
Jay Ray:Idris Goodwin, thank you so much, brother, for the work that you are doing.
Jay Ray:Um, the ability to just kind of spark imagination.
Jay Ray:You know, as we get older, right.
Jay Ray:As.
Jay Ray:adults.
Jay Ray:We grow up and our imagination gets just like life hammers that thing out of us.
Jay Ray:But you are doing the work to remind adults about the importance of imagination
Jay Ray:and to spark children's imagination.
Jay Ray:So we all are ready for Doctor De Soto, sir.
Jay Ray:So thank you so much for joining us here at Queue Points and doing your work, man.
Jay Ray:This is done.
Idris Goodwin:so much my honor, thanks guys
Idris Goodwin:DJ Sir Daniel: Absolutely.
Idris Goodwin:Like I always say in this life, you have a choice.
Idris Goodwin:You can either pick up the needle or you can let the record play.
Idris Goodwin:I'm DJ Sir Daniel,
Jay Ray:My name is Jay Ray, y'all.
Jay Ray:DJ Sir Daniel: and this has been Queue Points podcast, dropping
Jay Ray:the needle on black music history.
Jay Ray:We will see you on the next go round.
Jay Ray:Peace.
Jay Ray:Peace, y'all.
